SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The city is beginning to feel the effects of a funding cut for the Greater Syracuse Land Bank.

The Land Bank recently rejected 10 vacant houses that it normally would have assumed, which means the city will be stuck with the bill for maintaining them and, if necessary, demolishing them.

That could cost the city tens of thousands of dollars a year, according to city officials.

The Land Bank takes tax-delinquent homes seized by the city and either returns them to taxable use or demolishes them. It is the city's main way of dealing with its 1,800 vacant properties.

But since the city council cut $1.5 million from the Land Bank's budget, the agency has begun refusing to accept properties in need of demolition. If the Land Bank can't afford to demolish the property, leaders don't want to be saddled with the costs of insuring and maintaining a decrepit building.

That cost will now fall to the city in most cases.

"With losing $1.5 million in demolition funding, we've had to take a look at whether we can afford to take more into our inventory," said Katelyn Wright, executive director of the Land Bank. "If it's a demo candidate, we've decided we can't take any more."

It costs about $1,000 per year to keep up with each property, Wright said.

The city's code enforcement division will have to board up properties deemed a safety hazard and, if necessary, knock them down.

Those vacant properties pose other problems as well. This week, for example, a vacant house on Furman Street was intentionally set on fire, requiring a response from the city fire department.

The city has a $500,000 budget for emergency demolitions, which it sometimes uses to knock down vacant houses that are structurally unsound. That budget can be eaten up by single projects, such as the building that collapsed on South Salina Street in 2016. That demolition cost around $300,000.

Stephanie Pasquale, deputy commissioner of the department of neighborhood and business development, said vacant houses tie up her department's resources and those of city courts. Owners of vacant buildings are typically non-compliant with city codes, often requiring legal steps.

"We have precious few resources to go after those vacant structures, so any ones that we had counted on the Land Bank taking, now we have to address," Pasquale said. "It really sort of puts a monkey wrench in that process."

Between May and June, the Land Bank refused to accept 10 properties that the city had prepared to seize for back taxes:

340 Baker Ave.

638 E. Division St.

1010 Emerson Ave.

114 Empire Ave.

307 Bear St.

204 Dudley St.

348 Elm St.

113 Oberst St.

201 Corning Ave.

112 Strand Pl.

After it takes possession, the Land Bank typically arranges basic property maintenance on those buildings, such as lawn mowing or debris removal.

The Land Bank currently has $4 million in its reserve funds -- money Common Councilors have said it could use to plug the hole left by the lack of city funds.

Wright, however, said she is budgeting for a loss of about $3.6 million over the next three fiscal years as the Land Bank more aggressively targets houses for renovation or demolition and begins to unload the thousand properties it currently owns.